Welcome, OFA Summer Fellows!

June 8, 2013

Summer has finally arrived, and for me that means one big thing: It's fellows time! Today is the first official day of OFA Summer Fellows training, and events are happening right now in 40 states. The field of over 8,000 applicants was narrowed to 811 superstar fellows who are ready to do really big things.

"Your job this summer is to be a voice for the voiceless." - @sara_ela on the immense responsibility of our Summer #OFAFellows.

The OFA Fellows program is a central part of the Obama legacy—previous incarnations have produced thousands of talented new organizers across the country over the past six years.

For many fellows, this is much more than a fun summer gig. On the 2012 re-election campaign, 33% of all full-time staff got their start as summer fellows. And the payoff doesn't stop there—after the campaign, alumni of the fellows program were hired in huge numbers by allied organizations in Washington and elsewhere.

So what's the secret sauce to this program? It's the winning combination of great coaching, formal training and real-life organizing that fellows get to experience throughout their 12 weeks with OFA. Each of those weeks will include at least two live webinar trainings with national experts on topics like "Campaign Data," "House Meetings as an Organizing Tool," or "Digital Organizing Strategies."

The best part: Rather than getting trained on a topic and then going back home with nothing but scribbled notes as a reminder of what they learned, OFA summer fellows get the chance to put their training immediately into practice, planning real events with real volunteers around real issues that impact Americans in every community.